- We departed from the vicinity of Farani, and after a
circuitous route through the woods, arrived at Ali's camp in the
afternoon.
This encampment was larger than that of Benowm, and was
situated un the middle of a thick wood, about two miles distant from
a negro town called Bubaker. I immediately waited upon Ali, in
order to pay my respects to Queen Fatima, who had come with him from
Saheel. He seemed much pleased with my coming, shook hands with me,
and informed his wife that I was the Christian. She was a woman of
the Arab caste, with long black hair, and remarkably corpulent. She
appeared at first rather shocked at the thought of having a
Christian so near her; but when I had, by means of a negro boy who
spoke the Mandingo and Arabic tongues, answered a great many
questions which her curiosity suggested respecting the country of
the Christians, she seemed more at ease, and presented me with a
bowl of milk, which I considered as a very favourable omen.
The heat was now almost insufferable - all nature seemed sinking
under it. The distant country presented to the eye a dreary expanse
of sand, with a few stunted trees and prickly bushes, in the shade
of which the hungry cattle licked up the withered grass, while the
camels and goats picked off the scanty foliage. The scarcity of
water was greater here than at Benowm. Day and night the wells were
crowded with cattle, lowing and fighting with each other to come at
the troughs. Excessive thirst made many of them furious; others,
being too weak to contend for the water, endeavoured to quench their
thirst by devouring the black mud from the gutters near the wells,
which they did with great avidity, though it was commonly fatal to
them.
One night, having solicited in vain for water at the camp, and been
quite feverish, I resolved to try my fortune at the wells, which
were about half a mile distant from the camp. Accordingly I set out
about midnight, and being guided by the lowing of the cattle, soon
arrived at the place, where I found the Moors very busy drawing
water. I requested permission to drink, but was driven away with
outrageous abuse. Passing, however, from one well to another, I
came at last to one where there was only an old man and two boys. I
made the same request to this man, and he immediately drew me up a
bucket of water; but, as I was about to take hold of it, he
recollected that I was a Christian, and fearing that his bucket
might be polluted by my lips, he dashed the water into the trough,
and told me to drink from thence. Though this trough was none of
the largest, and three cows were already drinking from it, I
resolved to come in for my share; and kneeling down thrust my head
between two of the cows, and drank with great pleasure until the
water was nearly exhausted, and the cows began to contend with each
other for the last mouthful.
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